Miami Heat’s Chris “Birdman” Andersen a victim of a hoax

Miami Heat forward Chris Andersen enjoyed one of the best years of his life.

Andersen signed with the Miami Heat about halfway through in the 2012-13 season. Andersen played in 42 games, averaging 4.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. At 6’10, 228 lbs., Andersen gave the Heat some size in the middle, something they lacked.

Andersen then appeared in 20 postseason games, averaging 6.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, helping the Heat win their second straight NBA title.

Now, the news gets better for Andersen – his name has been cleared.

According to Andersen’s attorney, Mark Bryant, Andersen was being impersonated by a woman in Canada. The woman pretended to be Andersen and “sought relationships and gifts but also threatened at least one person.”

Although he wasn’t charged with a crime, the Douglas County Sheriff’s office’s Internet Crimes Against Children searched Andersen’s house last year. Now, Andersen will now not be pursued as a criminal in the case.

According to the Denver Post, the woman, Shelly Lynn Chartier is 29 and “has been charged with crimes of possession and transmitting of child pornography, personation, extortion and making threats.”

Chartier also helped Andersen and a woman in California enter a relationship even though “all the communication unknowingly flowed through the woman in Canada — posing as Andersen to the California woman and as the California woman to Andersen.”

A crazy story to say the least.